Warner Center, CA

WOODLAND HILLS, Calif., Feb. 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- South Bay Partners through a joint venture with LAMB Properties and Columbia Pacific Advisors announces that construction is underway on THE VARIEL senior living community located at 6233 Variel Avenue. Described as a game changer for area seniors, the eight-story Class A upscale rental midrise will offer residents a contemporary, active lifestyle in an excellent walkable location of Warner Center. The leasing office will open this fall, with occupancy planned for winter of 2021.

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Unlike the institutionalized look of other senior living communities, THE VARIEL brings a next-generation approach that will include 215 independent living units, 94 assisted living units and 27 memory care units with secure structured parking.

"We have nearly three decades of senior living development experience, but THE VARIEL is our first foray into Southern California," said Patrick McGonigle, President for South Bay Partners, Inc. "We're taking this opportunity to push the envelope and create a clean, contemporary and upscale aesthetic in an approachable, comfortable residential environment."

South Bay looked to the local resources of VTBS Architects and Rodrigo Vargas Design for THE VARIEL, and will be working with this team for several other Southern California senior living communities currently in the development pipeline. W.E. O'Neil Construction will serve as general contractor for THE VARIEL.

More than just an opportunity for area seniors, THE VARIEL will also boost the local economy, with more than 200 independent living residents and their families spending money in the Warner Center area. Plus, the community will be hiring roughly 170 employees.

"THE VARIEL is a welcome addition to Warner Center," said Bob Blumenfield, Councilmember, 3rd District, City of Los Angeles, which includes Woodland Hills.

THE VARIEL will showcase chef-inspired cuisine at on-site dining venues, including Warner's Restaurant, The 101 Bistro, The Tavern and Zynergy Juice Bar. Residents will also enjoy a full range of best-in-class on-site amenities: indoor therapy pool and spa, wellness gym, yoga studio, two theaters, conservatory, outdoor garden, dog wash and dog run, art studio, indoor/outdoor dining venues, and courtyard areas with barbeque grills, fire pits, seating areas and indoor golf simulator. Plus, residents will appreciate our close proximity to Westfield Topanga and The Village, Warner Tennis Center, the new Amazon grocery store, a neighborhood grocery store and Kaiser Permanente Woodland Hills Medical Center, a 264-bed hospital, all within one mile.

"This area of Warner Center is an eclectic, active neighborhood," said Peter Petraglia, Principal, VTBS. "So, we wanted to design something that would be unique and clearly identifiable as THE VARIEL but still fits in with the neighborhood."

The building will feature contemporary, clean lines with stone and brick finishes in warm tones to give it an inviting residential feel, Petraglia said. Plus, extensive landscaping will surround the building and fill the interior courtyard—enhancing the livability of the community.

"Living in Southern California is a very indoor-outdoor experience," said Rodrigo Vargas, Principal, Rodrigo Vargas Design. "So even if residents of THE VARIEL are indoors, there's always a view to gardens, a view to greens, a view to sky. It's a seamless connection. That's why all of our architectural finishes relate very nicely to what's happening outside."

THE VARIEL will be managed by West Bay Senior Living, a Southern California-based company providing management and operational services to senior living communities in Southern California. "We've set the bar very high for THE VARIEL, including high-quality services and the very latest concepts in wellness for seniors," said Jim Biggs, West Bay Chief Executive Officer. "This is the first of several LA basin projects we are planning that will reflect Southern California values and lifestyles."

About South Bay Partners:South Bay Partners is one of the most highly respected senior living developers in the United States and has completed over 10,000 senior living units nationwide. In its 26-year history, South Bay Partners has experienced developing all senior living product types including senior apartments, independent living, assisted living, memory care and skilled nursing.

South Bay Partners is headquartered in Dallas, Texas and has just under 2,000 units under construction or in design/predevelopment throughout the U.S.

About West Bay Senior Living:West Bay Senior Living was founded by two industry executives, Jim Biggs and Josh Johnson, who have decades of experience successfully guiding senior living communities across the U.S.

Headquartered in Southern California, West Bay is uniquely suited to manage senior living in the area with the two principals having served over 4,000 residents in seven senior communities in Southern California. As an operator-run company, West Bay's owners take a hands-on approach to community management by working directly with each community on all aspects of operation.

For further information:

Patrick McGoniglePresidentSouth Bay Partners, Inc.4514 Cole Avenue, Suite 1500Dallas, TX 75205(214) 370-2650http:///www.southbayltd.com233582@email4pr.com

Jim BiggsChief Executive OfficerWest Bay Senior Living1-833-WESTBAYwww.westbayseniorliving.com233582@email4pr.com

SOURCE South Bay Partners

When Anthem Inc. departs from its longtime Warner Center offices next year for new digs nearby it will leave behind one of the biggest empty buildings for lease in Los Angeles.

The 14-story Oxnard Street tower that the health insurer has occupied since the 1970s contains about 450,000 square feet — seven times more than the White House.

But that’s still not as big as something else the move stands to encourage: the development of the 25 acres surrounding the building.

That prime acreage is now largely covered by landscaping and parking lots that could have a far higher use as the office district inches toward becoming more of a bustling urban center.

The Warner Center 2035 Specific Plan adopted in 2013 promotes the construction of housing, shops and restaurants, and practically amounts to a welcome mat for builders.

It allows as much as 30 million square feet of commercial space, double what exists, and removed caps on building heights in most of the 1.5-square-mile district bounded by the 101 Freeway, Vanowen Street, DeSoto Avenue and Topanga Canyon Boulevard.

Developers already are working on billions of dollars’ worth of projects that will go a long way toward creating a neighborhood where people get out of their cars and walk around, but few parcels are as prominent as the centrally located one at 21555 Oxnard St.

When Anthem is gone, the building, owned by private local investors, will be refurbished and upgraded for new tenants, said Carl Muhlstein of JLL, a real estate broker who represents the landlords.

Center Point, as it is now called, will be the biggest block of office space available to rent in the San Fernando and Conejo valleys, he said.

But Anthem, which sold the office tower years ago, still owns the surrounding parcel and put it on the market a year ago in hopes of selling it to a developer.

The 2035 plan anticipates that the property will be developed with residential buildings and commercial uses such as offices, shops and restaurants, said land use entitlement consultant Brad Rosenheim.

“It has tremendous potential for new utilization,” he said.

Anthem did not respond to requests for comment about the status of the planned land sale.

Anthem is not bailing out of the region. It’s only relocating late next year to Campus @ Warner Center, a six-story office complex built a decade ago at 21255 and 21215 Burbank Blvd. that is co-owned by Lincoln Property Co. and Angelo, Gordon & Co.

Its long-term lease is valued by Lincoln at about $90 million, but the deal says a lot about why Warner Center is being transformed. Anthem is taking about 170,000 square feet, a little more than a third of its prior space.

An Anthem representative declined to explain the reduction but office tenants have commonly shrunk their footprints in recent years as more employees work from home and open-plan offices now in vogue put more workers in less space. Computerization also has eliminated the need for file cabinets, libraries and other storage that once took up a lot of room.

Years ago, companies conservatively estimated that they needed 250 square feet per employee, said real estate broker Corey Davidson of Savills Studley, who represented Anthem in the new lease. ”Now that number would be generous,” he said.

Other offices that are being transformed include the decidedly suburban-looking Warner Center Corporate Park, a 350,000-square-foot complex composed mostly of islands of low-slung concrete and black-glass buildings separated by parking lots.

Property owner Michael Adler and his financial partner LLJ Ventures unveiled plans last year to turn the campus into a 2.6-million-square-foot development where people could live and work.

The partnership is seeking approval to replace the 1980s-era park with more than 1 million square feet of modern offices, 80,000 square feet of stores and restaurants, 1,000 residential units, 68 live-work units and a 228-room hotel. There would also be parks and pedestrian-oriented open space.

The plan is to build out the office and other commercial areas of the development over 15 years or more as leases expire but to start on the apartments in about 18 months.

The availability of building opportunities in Warner Center, situated in the well-off community of Woodland Hills, has been a magnet for developers small and large.

Shopping center giant Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield is working on a $1.5-billion project to demolish its obsolete Promenade shopping mall on Topanga Canyon Boulevard. Dating from 1972, it will be replaced with an expansive mixed-use complex with about 1,400 residences, two hotels, shops, restaurants and an outdoor sports and entertainment venue.

Another deep-pocketed developer is Triple Five Worldwide, a Canadian real estate giant that owns the Mall of America in Minnesota and other big properties. It is buying the site of the closed Rocketdyne plant on Canoga Avenue where engines were built for the Saturn 5 rockets that took Apollo astronauts to the moon.

The 47-acre parcel, in escrow for a reported $150 million, is designated by the specific plan for a high-rise urban neighborhood with as much as 4 million square feet of residences, 1.1 million square feet of offices, hotels and stores. It is to have a central park, performance spaces and pedestrian paths.

Although Triple Five is known for shopping centers and tourist attractions, the company intends to build a residential community in Warner Center, not a mall.

Vice President for Development James Grindstaff said Triple Five has plans for “a unique urban village” that will “provide world class amenities and a modern approach to Valley living.” Designs should be released in the coming months.

If such projects proceed, they would supercharge the housing construction that has been picking up since 2000. Some 4,400 units have been completed since then, and there are 1,800 more under construction and an additional 4,300 units have been approved or are in planning stages, real estate broker Dean Zander of CBRE said.

Los Angeles City Councilman Bob Blumenfield, who represents the area, supports development that includes housing within reach of middle-income workers.

“We simply don’t have affordable housing in Warner Center,” Blumenfield spokesman Jake Flynn said, “and that’s a big problem.”

roger.vincent@latimes.com

Rams owner Stan Kroenke has acquired a high-rise office building in Woodland Hills near a former shopping center he bought a few months ago, strongly signaling that the billionaire businessman wants to build a second sports-centric development like that around SoFi Stadium.

Kroenke’s two sites in the Warner Center neighborhood are expected to become part of a sprawling mixed-use complex that may include stores, restaurants, hotels and residences, along with a training facility for the Super Bowl-winning football team.

Kroenke bought the office building on Oxnard Street on Friday, the Kroenke Group confirmed. The company did not disclose how much Kroenke paid for the building and surrounding land.

But real estate sources close to the deal who spoke on condition of anonymity said he paid about $175 million for the property, last occupied by health insurer Anthem Inc. In all, Kroenke has sunk about $325 million into the neighboring properties.

The 13-story tower sits on a 25-acre site ripe for development as Los Angeles officials push to make Warner Center a more bustling urban environment where people live, work, shop and find entertainment.

The neighborhood Specific Plan adopted in 2013 promotes the construction of housing, shops and restaurants — amounting to a welcome mat for builders. And large-scale mixed-use developments are already in the works.

Although the Kroenke Group has yet to publicly acknowledge any development plans in Woodland Hills, the company is widely expected to build a scaled-down version of its SoFi sports campus in Inglewood, with team headquarters, practice facility and fields, along with commercial development unrelated to football.

When Kroenke’s vision for the SoFi Stadium complex is complete, the football arena will be surrounded by a complex 3 1/2 times the size of Disneyland containing a performance venue, hotel, stores, restaurants, offices, homes and a lake with waterfalls.

In Warner Center, Kroenke bought the former Woodland Hills Promenade shopping center for $150 million in March. The city supports development of apartments, offices, hotel and a sports and entertainment center on the site. It lies across busy Owensmouth Avenue from the former Anthem property Kroenke just bought.

The latest purchase brings Kroenke’s holdings in Woodland Hills to about 65 acres, making the combined parcels one of the biggest development sites in the area, said John M. Walker, president of the Woodland Hills Homeowners Organization. “It’s huge.”

Walker expects Kroenke’s company to come up with a new land-use design that will encompass the entire site. His homeowners group supports improvements in Warner Center but will press for any proposed development plan to address ways to control noise and traffic, such as an expanded freeway offramp and street widening.

“It’s incredibly exciting that the Kroenke Group has acquired the old Anthem sites, expanding their future footprint in Warner Center,” L.A. City Councilman Bob Blumenfield said. “While many details need to be figured out, I am thrilled that the Rams want to build their new home in the West San Fernando Valley, and I look forward to working closely with them on this project.”

Among the prominent neighbors to Kroenke’s properties are the Warner Center Towers office complex, regional shopping center Westfield Topanga & the Village and a hotel, Warner Center Marriott Woodland Hills

Planned additions to the neighborhood include a proposed $1-billion complex on Warner Center Lane with offices, stores, restaurants, residences and a hotel that would replace a 1980s-era office park. It would have parks and pedestrian-oriented open space.

A zoning administrator has signed off on an early step toward the establishment of a sports and entertainment stadium in Woodland Hills on 34 acres of the Westfield Promenade mall that has been earmarked for a major redevelopment. However, the approved 7,500-seat venue, at roughly half of the 15,000-seat stadium originally planned by Westfield, appears to be something of a compromise, bringing down the scale of the proposed Valley sports arena when compared to the number of seats at venues such as downtown Los Angeles’ Staples Center (21,000) and the Forum in Inglewood (17,500). In a statement, a Westfield spokesperson expressed disappointment in “some of the specifics regarding the sports and entertainment center,” however, was satisfied with the project’s approval. “We’re pleased that the determination letter embraced the idea of an entertainment and sports center, as well as approved its size within the overall footprint of the Promenade Plan,” Larry Green, executive vice president of development at Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, told the Business Journal. “We look forward to a continuing conversation about the importance of having a facility that compares in seating capacity and quality as those serving other parts of greater Los Angeles, as well as one that will act as a catalyst for further economic growth in the Warner Center’s Downtown District.” Green emphasized that the Promenade Plan is still in the early stages. “With any ambitious vision, there are points of negotiation and discussions that will occur,” Green continued. “We will continue to work with the city and community to respond to their comments and resolve issues. As always, we are committed to a robust community process, which reflects the more than two decades of conversations with neighbors and embraces the vision of the Warner Center 2035 Plan.” Meanwhile, L.A. City Councilman Bob Blumenfield, whose district includes Woodland Hills’ Warner Center — the site of Blumenfield’s initiative to transform the neighborhood into the San Fernando Valley’s downtown — called the move “reasonable” given a general “lack of information” regarding the stadium’s operating partner or its exact usage. Earlier this year, Westfield revealed its plans for an overhaul of the Promenade in excess of $1 billion, to include 1,400 residential units, 244,000 square feet of retail, a 570-key hotel and 5,610 on-site parking spaces. As part of this redevelopment, spearheaded by the mall developer’s European parent company Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, the stadium would rise at the northeast corner of Topanga Canyon Boulevard and Oxnard Street. The stadium is not without its community opposition. At recent town hall meetings, a segment of local residents have expressed NIMBY pushback toward Westfield’s ambitious project, lamenting such potential problems as unruly crowds, increased pollution, anticipated traffic congestion and a skyrocketing of parking and short-cuts through residential streets. The approval is not final. Residents will have until Aug. 1 to file an appeal.

WOODLAND HILLS, Calif., July 28, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Laurus Corporation, a U.S.-based private real estate investment and development firm, has acquired the Marriott Warner Center hotel in Woodland Hills, CA.

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Woodland Hills is located in the heart of Los Angeles County's San Fernando Valley region, an area that accounts for nearly 50 percent of the City of Los Angeles' residents. In addition to a large and growing population, the Valley also boasts an extremely diverse economy, including corporate demand driven by the entertainment, financial services, education and healthcare, and insurance sectors, as well as aerospace/defense and high-technology firms.

The Marriott Warner Center enjoys outstanding visibility and convenient access to the Ventura (101) Freeway, in an area that has been dubbed the "101 Technology Corridor" due to the recent development and growth of technology companies in the region. The hotel is located in the center of the pre-planned Woodland Hills/Warner Center development, a corporate hub with more than 10.3 million square feet of office space, one of the largest office submarkets in the greater Los Angeles area. In addition, the hotel is directly adjacent to the 614,400 square-foot Westfield Promenade mall and the 1.6 million square-foot Westfield Topanga Shopping Center– the leading regional retail destination for North Los Angeles County. Furthermore, its extraordinary location is convenient to numerous Los Angeles landmarks and attractions, such as Universal Studios/Universal CityWalk, the Getty Center, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, California State University Northridge, Pepperdine University, and Six Flags Magic Mountain.

The 16-story, full service hotel, features 474 guestrooms, four food and beverage outlets, including a signature restaurant, and more than 28,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space. With its 11,000-square-foot Grand Ballroom, the hotel boasts the largest overall meeting space capacity and ballroom in the area, making it the ideal destination for corporate events and social gatherings.

"The acquisition of Marriott Warner Center is another step forward executing Laurus' focused investment strategy – seeking prime value-add opportunities requiring complex structuring, active management, repositioning and significant renovation opportunities," said Phil Cyburt, Chief Executive Officer of Laurus Corporation. "With the influx of new businesses and expansion of corporate campuses in the area, along with the Valley's projected 3.5% population growth over the next four years, there is tremendous opportunity to maximize the asset's ability to generate revenues in both the corporate and leisure segments."

"The Marriott Warner Center is a prime business hotel in one of the country's top gateway markets, and Woodland Hills in particular continues to enjoy robust demand from the multitude of corporate headquarters and mission-critical offices located in the area. Coupled with Laurus' ability to consistently execute on value-add business plans and achieve attractive risk-adjusted returns, this acquisition represented an ideal opportunity to allocate capital from Laurus' private equity platform, Ethika Investments," added Douglas Kiel, Chief Financial of Laurus Corporation.

"The hotel's guests will benefit from a $10 million renovation that will refresh the public areas and guest rooms and enhance the hotel's abundant amenities. Our firm places substantial importance on maximizing guest satisfaction through improving the physical appeal of the asset, providing exemplary service, enhancing the dining experience and being responsive to guest needs, down to the smallest details," said Officer Jean Paul Szita, President of Laurus Corporation.

The Marriott Warner Center is located at 21850 Oxnard Street, Woodland Hills, California.

Laurus Corporation is a real estate investment and development company that specializes in hotels and resorts, office buildings, multifamily and mixed-use properties. Laurus employs an entrepreneurial investment strategy designed to consistently achieve attractive risk-adjusted returns by creating capital appreciation opportunities through repositioning, restructuring, re-development and intensive post acquisition asset management. It is affiliated with Ethika Investments, LLC, a real estate private equity firm.

Laurus Corporation1880 Century Park East, Suite 1016Los Angeles, CA 90067Phone: (310) 277-8600Fax: (310) 362-0353http://www.lauruscorporation.com

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SOURCE Laurus Corporation